In the latest trading session, APA (APA) closed at $23.99, marking a +1.61% move from the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.55%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.95%.
Shares of the oil and natural gas producer witnessed a gain of 5.59% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Oils-Energy sector with its gain of 1.1%, and the S&P 500's gain of 3.64%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of APA in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.72, down 28% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $2.11 billion, indicating a 16.8% downward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $3.34 per share and a revenue of $9.25 billion, demonstrating changes of -11.41% and -4.97%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for APA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.34% higher. APA is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
With respect to valuation, APA is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.06. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 10.51.
One should further note that APA currently holds a PEG ratio of 6.73. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry stood at 0.78 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 199, which puts it in the bottom 20% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow APA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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APA Corporation (APA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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